I know you are eager for summer to begin, and I am sure you have all sorts of plans for exploring new places and revisiting favorite haunts with your family, for getting together and having fun with your friends, and for having free time to learn new interests just because you are curious about them.
At the start of every summer, I am filled with wonder -- I feel that anything is possible. I hope you can capture that feeling and save some of it inside you for your first year of middle school. It is with that feeling of wonder in mind that I share with you your Summer Reading selections and activities for 2013.
All students in the fifth grade will read the book __Wonder by R.J. Pallacio__. Both a Bluebonnet and a Lone Star selection this year, this amazing book tells the story of August (nicknamed Augie), a boy who enters school for the first time at the beginning of fifth-grade. Like his fellow students, he wonders a lot about how his first year of middle school will go. Homeschooled until now because of numerous operations to attempt to fix the facial deformities he was born with, Augie also wonders if he will be able to fit in and be accepted as just another kid.
All rising fifth-graders will also choose a second book to read from the works __Margaret Peterson Haddix,__ who will be our visiting author in 2013-14. Her latest book,__Game-Changer__, is about a world where school and sports have switched places. You may have heard of her book, __Running Out of Time__, which tells the story of a young girl who must save her village from a scientific experiment. You may even want to read all of the books in one of her exciting series: __The Shadow Children__ or __Missing__ (suggested for Gifted and Talented readers). Of course there are many others to choose from. A grade-level reading list can be found at __http://haddixbooks.com/visit3.html__ .
You can purchase your summer reading books at the Barnes and Noble Book Fair on May 17th.
In addition to the school-wide project on family heritage, all rising fifth-graders will create a “Wonder Book” over the summer. What do you do when you wonder about things? You notice them, ask why, imagine, consider “what if...” You probably wonder about things that have happened to you, people you have met, new and different things you have encountered. Wondering also means that you invite a feeling of wonder to fill you with surprise, awe, and magic. Using a plain composition notebook, you will create a book of summer wonders and wonderings by filling it with artifacts, pictures, thoughts, and imaginings.
You may wonder about your travels and adventures, your reading (definitely your reading!), your dreams. I hope that you will create at least 5 wonderings in your Wonder Book over the summer that will share your thoughts and stories, along with postcards, letters, photographs, drawings, diagrams, and links to other media you may have created. Each “wondering” entry should include written details and a physical artifact that reflect your curiosity and your discoveries over the summer and about your summer reading. Just date each entry and begin with “I wonder...” and see where it takes you!
Wondering is the starting place of learning. It’s the beginning of scientific questioning and imaginative storytelling. As we share our Wonder Books during the first week of classes, we will begin to see how wondering connects science and language arts and all of your other learning in surprising ways!
I know you are eager for summer to begin, and I am sure you have all sorts of plans for exploring new places and revisiting favorite haunts with your family, for getting together and having fun with your friends, and for having free time to learn new interests just because you are curious about them.
At the start of every summer, I am filled with wonder -- I feel that anything is possible. I hope you can capture that feeling and save some of it inside you for your first year of middle school. It is with that feeling of wonder in mind that I share with you your Summer Reading selections and activities for 2013.
All students in the fifth grade will read the book __Wonder by R.J. Pallacio__. Both a Bluebonnet and a Lone Star selection this year, this amazing book tells the story of August (nicknamed Augie), a boy who enters school for the first time at the beginning of fifth-grade. Like his fellow students, he wonders a lot about how his first year of middle school will go. Homeschooled until now because of numerous operations to attempt to fix the facial deformities he was born with, Augie also wonders if he will be able to fit in and be accepted as just another kid.
All rising fifth-graders will also choose a second book to read from the works
__Margaret Peterson Haddix,__ who will be our visiting author in 2013-14. Her latest book,__Game-Changer__, is about a world where school and sports have switched places. You may have heard of her book, __Running Out of Time__, which tells the story of a young girl who must save her village from a scientific experiment. You may even want to read all of the books in one of her exciting series: __The Shadow Children__ or __Missing__ (suggested for Gifted and Talented readers). Of course there are many others to choose from. A grade-level reading list can be found at __http://haddixbooks.com/visit3.html__ .
You can purchase your summer reading books at the Barnes and Noble Book Fair on May 17th.
In addition to the school-wide project on family heritage, all rising fifth-graders will create a “Wonder Book” over the summer. What do you do when you wonder about things? You notice them, ask why, imagine, consider “what if...” You probably wonder about things that have happened to you, people you have met, new and different things you have encountered. Wondering also means that you invite a feeling of wonder to fill you with surprise, awe, and magic. Using a plain composition notebook, you will create a book of summer wonders and wonderings by filling it with artifacts, pictures, thoughts, and imaginings.
You may wonder about your travels and adventures, your reading (definitely your reading!), your dreams. I hope that you will create at least 5 wonderings in your Wonder Book over the summer that will share your thoughts and stories, along with postcards, letters, photographs, drawings, diagrams, and links to other media you may have created. Each “wondering” entry should include written details and a physical artifact that reflect your curiosity and your discoveries over the summer and about your summer reading. Just date each entry and begin with “I wonder...” and see where it takes you!
Wondering is the starting place of learning. It’s the beginning of scientific questioning and imaginative storytelling. As we share our Wonder Books during the first week of classes, we will begin to see how wondering connects science and language arts and all of your other learning in surprising ways!
Have a great summer!
Ms. Susan Davis
5th Grade Language Arts